Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship

Site Overview

This website, Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship, tells two stories, "The Story of Whaling", which describes what happened on a 19th century whaling voyage and "Laura's Story", the story of a young girl from Edgartown, Massachusetts who went with her family on a whaling voyage and kept a journal. The site also has several interactive features that you can explore, and a "Dive Deeper" section that allows you to learn more and look at details in a different way. There is no one right way to view the website. Explore it any way that interests you.

In the two narrative sections, the stories are both divided into three sections: "Before the Voyage", "The Voyage" and "After the Voyage." The interactive features allow you to view Laura's Journal, learn about whales, explore the ship and see several maps relating to whaling. "Explore Laura's Journal" presents her journal and allows you to zoom-in on the pages, read the transcription, see the transcription revealed using the Magic Lens and hear it read aloud. In "About Whales", you can learn about the six species of whales that were hunted in the 19th century. "Explore the Ship" allows you to discover the various parts of a whaler and what they were used for. In "Map of Whaling", there are several maps that can be viewed showing Laura's route, typical routes of whaling voyages, ports and sites visited by whalers, whale migrations routes and the major ocean currents. You can view them individually or layer them, as you'd like to see connections.

Finally, there is the "Dive Deeper" section that provides more in-depth coverage and different ways to learn about some details. Here you'll find "Artifacts", allowing you to browse through different categories, "The Crew", where you can look at each crew member and learn about their role on the vessel, a "Picture Gallery" with images of people, logbook art and whaling. "Dive Deeper" also includes "People", with biographies each member of Laura's family, a "Glossary", and "More About...", which has essays going into more depth on topics that come up in the narratives. Explore it all in any way that interests you.

Contact Us

We would like to hear from you; contact us with comments or questions: [email protected]

Mailing Address:
Martha's Vineyard Museum
P.O. Box 1310
Edgartown, MA 02539

Street Address:
59 School Street (Pease House) Corner of Cooke and School St.

Telephone: 508-627-4441
Fax: 508-627-4436